Europe In A Hilux

You’ve already travelled through Africa with them, now it’s time to go back to the beginning – to May 2018 – when Patrick and Marie Gurney set off on their 18-month overland journey from France to South Africa. In this first part of their trip, they drive through France, Italy and Croatia.

- Patrick and Marie Gurney

The first hurdle was getting our 2001 Toyota Hilux KZTE (affectionately known as Kukuza) to Marie’s hometown of Valence in France. From there, we’d drive to Johannesburg, my hometown, through Europe and Africa.

The vehicle was shipped from Cape Town to Antwerp in Belgium. What should have been a six-week voyage turned into a three-month ordeal. The clock was ticking and we were eager to get going, but first, we had to navigate some red tape.

We were disappointed by our shipping agent, who tripped up on the paperwork early on. They insisted on presenting our Carnet de Passage to customs officials in Belgium, whereas the AA instructs that you should simply complete a Temporary Import Permit. The TIP would have been far less of a hassle, and that early mistake came back to haunt us later in the journey.

On 28 May 2018, we finally had Kukuza delivered to Valence. We packed hurriedly and set out a few days later, heading straight for the magnificent Alps. We whisked through the French countryside and overnighted in Annecy, next to a lake at the foot of the mountains. From there we headed to Mont Blanc, where we stayed in Chamonix.

Our plan was to camp whenever we could, and that first night in Chamonix was our first time in the tent. We had bought a second-hand Howling Moon Stargazer rooftop tent in South Africa, and we hadn’t even opened it yet!

It was a 15-minute puzzle to figure out, but then we were sorted. The rooftop tent turned out to be an absolute blessing in the months to follow because we seldom found that perfectly level spot to pitch a traditional ground tent.

The following day we took the cable car up to a place called Plan de l’Aiguille, from where we could admire Bossons Glacier. The sheer size of the ice-blue glacier was something to see.